ECONOMY

Confiscations soar as IKA chases debts

Confiscations made by the Social Security Foundation (IKA) in a bid to retrieve employers’ social security contribution debts have soared from 1,500 per month to between 5,000 and 8,000 per week, as IKA is trying to get its hands on at least some of the money it is owed, while a number of employers who have entered payment plans have failed to stick to them.

The difference now however is that the majority of confiscations concern amounts taken from third parties who owe money to the state debtors, such as in the form of rent. This also applies to money owed to debtors by clients.

The problem is that this process usually only brings in small amounts for Greece’s biggest social security fund, deprives enterprises of cash, and increases the phenomenon of hiding revenues via non-bank transactions. For instance, the confiscation of money from the bank account of a major supermarket chain brought IKA just 21,000 euros.

The confiscations involve a range of companies from the very small to some established major players in Greece’s industrial and hotel sectors.

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